The Fatal Wedding
Encyclopedia
The Fatal Wedding is a 1911 Australian silent film
directed by Raymond Longford
based on a popular American stage melodrama which he and Lottie Lyell
had toured around Australia.
) and Mabel Wilson (Lottie Lyell
) and drives them to divorce. Howard gets custody of their children Jessie(Elsie Rennie) and Frankie (Master Anson) but Mabel winds up abducting them. Five years later Cora discovers Mabel living in poverty with the children. She tries to poison Mabel and frame Jessie on a charge of theft but is unsuccessful. Howard and Mabel eventually reconcile.
-Johnson
fight in 1908,, this was his first feature as director. It was also Lottie Lyell's first movie.
The play on which the script was based had recently toured around Australia under the management of entrepreneur Philip Lytton with both Longford and Lyell playing lead roles. Shooting took place largely in an artist's studio in Bondi with a roof taken off.
to establish a film studio at Rushcutter's Bay in Sydney.
Longford later claimed the movie was the first domestic drama picture using interiors made in Australia. Some have also argued this film was the first to introduce the close up
.
It is considered a lost film
.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
directed by Raymond Longford
Raymond Longford
Raymond Longford was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australian cinema. He formed a production team with Lottie Lyell...
based on a popular American stage melodrama which he and Lottie Lyell
Lottie Lyell
Lottie Lyell was an Australian actress, screenwriter, editor and filmmaker born in Balmain, Sydney in 1890. She is regarded as Australia’s first film star, and also contributed to the local industry during the silent era with her collaborations with Raymond Longford.-Career:Charlotte Cox pursued...
had toured around Australia.
Synopsis
An adventuress, Cora Williams (Miss Clare) destroys the happy marriage of Howard (Raymond LongfordRaymond Longford
Raymond Longford was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australian cinema. He formed a production team with Lottie Lyell...
) and Mabel Wilson (Lottie Lyell
Lottie Lyell
Lottie Lyell was an Australian actress, screenwriter, editor and filmmaker born in Balmain, Sydney in 1890. She is regarded as Australia’s first film star, and also contributed to the local industry during the silent era with her collaborations with Raymond Longford.-Career:Charlotte Cox pursued...
) and drives them to divorce. Howard gets custody of their children Jessie(Elsie Rennie) and Frankie (Master Anson) but Mabel winds up abducting them. Five years later Cora discovers Mabel living in poverty with the children. She tries to poison Mabel and frame Jessie on a charge of theft but is unsuccessful. Howard and Mabel eventually reconcile.
Production
Although Longford had appeared in several films as an actor and helped make a documentary about the BurnsTommy Burns
Thomas Burns may refer to:*Thomas Burns , Nationalist Northern Irish politician*Thomas Burns , founding settler of Dunedin, New Zealand*Thomas Burns , Catholic bishop...
-Johnson
Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson may refer to :*Jack Johnson , one of Wyatt Earp's possemen during his "vendetta ride"*Jack Johnson , first African-American heavyweight boxing world champion...
fight in 1908,, this was his first feature as director. It was also Lottie Lyell's first movie.
The play on which the script was based had recently toured around Australia under the management of entrepreneur Philip Lytton with both Longford and Lyell playing lead roles. Shooting took place largely in an artist's studio in Bondi with a roof taken off.
Reception
The Fatal Wedding was a big success at the box office and launched the cinema careers of Longford and Lyell, as well as enabling producer Charles Cozens SpencerCharles Cozens Spencer
Charles Cozens Spencer was a British-born film exhibitor and producer, who was a significant figure in the early years of the Australian film industry.-Biography:...
to establish a film studio at Rushcutter's Bay in Sydney.
Longford later claimed the movie was the first domestic drama picture using interiors made in Australia. Some have also argued this film was the first to introduce the close up
Close up
A close-up is tightly framed image of a person or an object.Close-Up or Close Up may refer to:- Film and television :*Close Up, two different New Zealand current affairs programmes...
.
It is considered a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
.
Cast
- Lottie LyellLottie LyellLottie Lyell was an Australian actress, screenwriter, editor and filmmaker born in Balmain, Sydney in 1890. She is regarded as Australia’s first film star, and also contributed to the local industry during the silent era with her collaborations with Raymond Longford.-Career:Charlotte Cox pursued...
as Mabel Wilson - Raymond LongfordRaymond LongfordRaymond Longford was a prolific Australian film director, writer, producer and actor during the silent era. Longford was a major director of the silent film era of the Australian cinema. He formed a production team with Lottie Lyell...
as Howard Wilson - Walter Vincent as Robert Curtis
- Tom Cosgrove as Toto
- Henry Saville as Peter Schwartz
- George Ellis as Constable O'Reilly
- Mr Henderson as Reverend Dr Lanceford
- Miss Clare as Cora Williams
- Helen Fergus as Bridget
- Elsie Rennie as Jessie
- Master Anson as Frankie
External links
- The Fatal Wedding at National Film and Sound ArchiveNational Film and Sound ArchiveThe National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...